Seven-member boy group NouerA made its ambitious debut, aiming to lead the next generation of K-pop.
NouerA is a multinational boy group formed through KBS2’s audition program “MakeMate1,” which aired from May to July 2024. The group consists of four Korean members Gihyeon, Junpyo, Hyunjun, and Yuseop, along with Chinese members Lin and Fan, and the youngest member, Miraku, who is Japanese.
Their name, NouerA, combines the French word nouer, meaning “connect,” and the English word "era," symbolizing the group's ambition to carry on a new generation of K-pop.
"I truly love singing and dancing. I am so happy that I can continue doing what I love. I will always remain grateful and never forget my beginnings," said Hyunjun during the group’s debut press conference held in Yongsan-gu, Seoul, on Wednesday.
NouerA’s debut EP, “Chapter: New is Now,” consists of six tracks, telling the story of a young agent growing through various missions. In addition to the title track, “N.I.N (New is Now),” the album showcases a wide spectrum of genres, ranging from the pop-dance track, “Sparkle,” to hip-hop inspired track “Infinity” to Britpop-inspired track “Pairing.”
Even before their official debut, NouerA had already made significant milestones. In September last year, the group held its predebut fan meeting event, “Hello NouerA,” in Tokyo. The group was also invited to the 2024 Billboard No. 1s Party in Los Angeles in November.
"I’ll never forget the moment we performed our first song, 'Infinity,' at our predebut fan meeting in Japan. I had a strong feeling that it would be a major stepping stone for our future activities," said Junpyo.
"We want to be recognized as the most promising rookie group of 2025. Rather than sticking to conventional methods, we aim to showcase our unique charms in diverse ways," said Yuseop.
Junpyo also shared how encouragement from Xiumin, the MC of “MakeMate1,” and how it helped him through debut preparations. "MakeMate1 was an audition program that exclusively recruited participants without agencies, aiming to discover hidden K-pop gems among ordinary boys. Since we weren’t necessarily the most skilled group of contestants, we faced a lot of challenges. But Xiumin, who was the host at the time, supported us greatly, even gifting us rings he personally designed."
Gihyeon concluded with ambitious goals. "Even though this is our debut album, we want to achieve great results on music charts and music shows. And by the end of the year, we definitely want to win a Rookie of the Year award."
jy@heraldcorp.com
